Lynn Camp gets first win of 2014 against Jellico on Alumni Night

The Lynn Camp Wildcats sent the home crowd home happy on alumni night Friday by defeating the Jellico, TN Blue Devils 22-18 in a thrilling game that marked the return of senior running back Keanu Nolen to the field.

After a Jellico punt in the first quarter forced Lynn Camp to begin their second offensive drive of the game on their own one-yard-line, Nolen was sacked for a safety on first down to put Jellico up 2-0 with 5:49 left on the clock.

The Blue Devils extended their lead to 10-0 on the ensuing drive via a two-yard touchdown run from freshman running back Kenny Elliott and a two-point conversion run from junior Truth Hammond at the 3:00 mark.

Three plays into the second quarter, Brenton Medlin snagged an interception for the Wildcats, returning it all the way to the Jellico 16-yard-line.

On the first play from scrimmage, Lynn Camp’s Jordan Steele ran it to the six-yard-line, setting up a Nolen touchdown run with 11:04 left in the half. The two-point conversion failed, making it 10-6 in favor of the Blue Devils.

The Wildcats took the lead when defensive back Tyler Emery picked off another pass from Jellico quarterback Tony Smith and ran it back 65 yards to pay dirt. This time Steele ran in the two-point conversion, giving the home team the 14-10 lead with 7:05 left on the clock.

The third quarter of play was mostly a defensive battle, but Lynn Camp was able to extend their lead with 1:37 left when Steele ran it into the end zone from five yards out. Sophomore quarterback Dylan Brown ran in the two-point conversion to make it 22-10.

Jellico battled back in the fourth quarter, with Elliott scoring on a five-yard-run and then running in the two-point conversion with 7:05 left in the game.

After forcing a turnover on downs, the Blue Devils had a chance to reclaim the lead with a scoring drive, but Smith was intercepted again, this time by Brown, and the Wildcats were able to run out the clock from there.

“My hat’s off to our kids,” said Lynn Camp Head Coach Phil Russell after the in. “We told them all week that defense was going to win this ball game, and we just went out there and came up with a few more big plays than Jellico did. We got down 10-0 in the first half, but our kids just kept battling. We have a long road ahead of us, but I am extremely proud of our team and their resiliency.”

That long road continues this week on the road against the Harlan Green Dragons (0-1), who have not played since their season opener at Leslie County back on August 22. The Dragons lost that game 28-0.

Kickoff for Lynn Camp versus Harlan is set for 7:30 PM.

Lynn Camp 22, Jellico, TN 18

Lynn Camp –  0   14  8  0  –  22

Jellico, TN  – 10   0  0   8  –  18

J – Safety

J – Kenny Elliott 2 run (Truth Hammond run)

LC – Keanu Nolen 6 run (Conversion failed)

LC – Tyler Emery 65 interception (Steele run)

LC – Steele 5 run (Dylan Brown run)

J – Elliott 5 run (Elliott run)